Prog 1969 Review – Orlok

Here’s Orlok with another outpouring, this time he has 1969 on the old tablet…

COVER:
It is very pretty and there is a frankly magnificent chin from Alex Ronald on display. Does it work? Yes. Is it cover of the year right off the bat? No.
What is good is that we get a really good sense of the size of the Klegg here with Dredd, resplendent in his blue uniform (blue???) looking thin and small in comparison. The wisps of smoke from the smashed up surroundings is a hint at where this is going next week and it is topped off with some nice Nick Clegg punnage. I liked it.

Inside there is another failed attempt at humour in the form of Droid Life and some gubbins about a kickstarter campaign for Venusian Lube. FFS.

DREDD:
Maybe it is because D’Israeil is coming on the back of Mark Sexton (oh my…) that this doesn’t have the artistic impact that it should have. As good as D’Israeli is (and that’s really fucking good, let’s face it) the art last week was a trailblazer and it was always going to be a hard act to follow. That said, you need different artists for different narrative styles. If it is serious and hard hitting you need a Willsher type to show the grit, if comedic you need a Gibson style to show the craziness and if it is some incomprehensible nonsense you need someone like Siku to make you wonder what the fuck you are looking at.
This is very much in the funny stakes with some out of character stuff (Dredd muttering and making light of wanting to eat his gun) adding to the comedy setting.
I loved how the desk Hershey, Dredd and Maitland were at is coloured in the same red and black style of a Lawmaster. That was a nice touch.
We can still see a few damaged block in the city, too.

Storywise this is played for laughs so far and Dredd apparently hates dealing with Kleggs. I must have missed a couple of experiences since the few times I have seen him interact with more than one has been in combat or actually saving them…see later.
The diplomat Klegg was hilariously written and his attempt to get Hershey to join in with him during the Klegg military chant was sublime. His secret love of being in the Big Meg and his fatal attraction to fat lasses was brilliantly realised and his ignominious end choking to death wearing a large bra while trying to swallow one of his beloved porky paramours brought a chuckle. Also, I’ve decided that that’s the way I want to go out.
It was interesting to note that the department still has enough space tech left to assault the Kleggs should the situation warrant it. This makes sense since we have about fifty gajillion SJS Judges on standby thanks to Dan Abnett’s rejected 40K pitch. Regardless it was nice to see the worry spread across the diplomat’s crocodilian face as this fact hit home.
The signing of the peace treaty on Sino Cit is perhaps harking back to The Corps where it was revealed that the Sinos and Kleggs had a mutual interest that the Big Meg took exception to. Presumably that is now canon.
The Kleggs now being a protected species as outlined in the Juve Mutated Kung Fu Kleggs story, is presumably now not canon. It does make you wonder.
Anyway, we’re off to the Cursed Earth after Sensitive Klegg next Prog who is still alive, well and setting up poetry nights. Hilarity will ensue.

KINGDOM:
In a turnaround worthy of Rocky Balboa, Gene bests Canis and floors the big lug just as the cavalry shows up.
It is hinted that Leezee is safe but in that special way that suggests that the truth is being applied liberally. It’s like when you ask a potential babysitter if he has ever been convicted of a sexual offence and he answers “Convicted? No…never convicted.”
There’s also a hint from Numan that this is the last opportunity to throw down against Them and you get the impression that an orbital strike of some description may be on the cards with a scorched earth (of Them and Aux alike) being a distinct possibility.
Mind you, with Them gone, Gene’s reason for living will be gone and he will have to take up doggystyling Clara Bow on an hourly basis. It’s a dog’s life.
Them are evolving more rapidly than expected and even developing a hierarchical society, which is worrying.
If this is heading to a conclusion, it is being masterfully managed.

And the art? Well, the art is just beautiful.

ABC WARRIORS:
Well, the big revelation here is that the Rise of the Robots has been a disaster for mankind.
That’s a little harsh. It was certainly a disaster for Mirage studios and was full of glitches but I doubt it was reall- oh, we’re not talking about the shit fighting game for the SNES.
Instead in a revisit to the past story, our humans are shitting it about the potential for a robot rebellion and what that will mean for the puny fleshy ones. If the metal bastards get hold of that film I saw last week of the dude pushing over Atlas with a stick, we’re all fucked.
Revisionist tale aside, the lovely overhead shot on page 3 of the Satan Dart (which is potentially a shortlisted name for my penis) made this all worthwhile and it was great to see the travel tubes again.

THE ORDER:
In a flashback we get to see the Queen of Spain giving birth to a wyrm. Or so the story goes. Personally, I think it’s just one more reason to avoid women as vagina dentate is an established FACT. This is evidenced when the poor doctor doing the delivery gets his hands bitten off by the twat with teeth. It’s about time this muff menace was exposed.
Ritterstahl gets a spanking new body courtesy of Bacon who drops in a potential reveal here as he says that the design of the revolver is centuries old. This could mean that Bacon is from the future and is very much the smartest man in the world because of his foreknowledge.
The Schmidt and Bacon pistol line was really funny and it is revealed that the possessed humans have a power of sorts when Itza is glamoured by the wyrms.

Yeah, and the art is just beautiful.

STRONTIUM DOG:
This all pulls together as Johnny drops the sisters in the shit, presenting the ransom note left for Shaggy as evidence that they took the brain for Limax.
The Galanthans are suitably riled up and plan to take the Rock, passing the place over to the Stronts. Will this be their new base of operations?
This story has relied more on extreme plot convenience than actual smart narrative and entertaining though it is I doubt it will go down as one of the classics.

TOP THRILL:
With no massive impact from Kingdom this week I’m awarding it to Dredd.

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One comment on “Prog 1969 Review – Orlok”

The narrator makes the claims about Dredd wanting to eat a bullet – Dredd is not the narrator. I missed the detail about the lawmaster desk and the size differential between Dredd and Sensitive Klegg is my favourite bit of the cover too.

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